According
to tradition, the martyr
St. Miniatus, who was suffered
during the persecution
of Decius in the 3rd century,
was buried on the hill
where the church bearing
his name now stands. It
was the idea of the bishop
Hildrebrand to build the
basilica, together with
the adjoining Benedictine
monastery, on the site
where it was believed
that the relics of the
saint (today preserved
in the crypt of the church)
were found.

Work was begun in 1018
and was completed about
1207. The new church which
was built on the site of
an earlier church reflects
the various stages of its
construction in its different
parts, from the crypt to
the elaborate marble floor
of the nave. The beautiful
façade,
of green and white marble
in the Tuscan manner, has
a blind colonnade in the
lower register. The mosaic
on the pediment showing
Christ in benediction between
the Virgin and St. Miniatus
dates from the beginnnig
of the 13th century. The
polychrome marble decoration
of the facade is also
a feature of the interior,
dominated by the raised
presbytery.

The church, which is one
of the masterpieces of
the Tuscan Romanesque,
combines a basilical plan
of classical origin with
typically romanesque elements;
some of the capitals are
Roman and others are romanesque.
The oldest decoration
is the mosaics and the
marble inlay work, of
which the most important
is the central part of
the pavement. This area,
which retains its original
decoration, shows interesting
figurative motifs, enriched
with symbolic significance.
The beautiful Zodiac,
which is originally a pagan
motif, here assumes a
Christian symbolic value,
according to some, by
its subdivision into twelve
signs which allude to
the twelve Apostles. The
area of the apse is also
richly decorated, with
superb marble inlays on
the altar, the enclosure
and the pulpit, and is
dominated by the beautiful
mosaic bearing the date
1297; it depicts Christ
in benediction between
the Virgin, St. Miniatus,
the symbols of the Evangelists
and the kneeling donor,
and it is characterised by a technique
making use of strong chromatic
contrast.

The sacristy is decorated
by a cycle of frescoes
of Episodes from the life
of Saint Benedict by Spinello
Aretino (c. 1387), commissioned
by Benedetto degli Alberti.
In the chapel of the
Crucifix, the little tempietto
at the end of the nave,
to house the famous Crucifix
which supposedly inclined
its head to St. John Gualbert
who had pardoned the murderer
of his brother, the church
received several new masterpieces.
In 1447 Piero de’ Medici
commissioned Michelozzo
(or, according to another
theory, Alberti) to build
the chapel of the Crucifix,
the little tempietto at
the end of the nave, to
house the famous Crucifix
which supposedly inclined
its head to St. John Gualbert
who had pardoned the murderer
of his brother. The eagles
are the emblem of Calimala,
the Merchants’
Guild that from the 13th
century onwards was responsible
for the maintenance of
the church.

The Chapel of the Cardinal
of Portugal in the left
aisle constitutes an extraordinary
gem of the Renaissance
having preserved a combination
of architecture, painting
and sculpture as it was
originally conceived: it
was built to contain the
tomb of James of Lusitania,
Cardinal of Portugal,
who died very young in
Florence in 1459. Several
of the major artists of
the Renaissance worked
in this chapel, having
been selected and commissioned
by the Cardinal’s
uncle. Possibly designed
by Antonio Manetti, with
the later involvement
of Rossellino, it is
a kind of jewellery box
adorned with painting,
stone and coloured marble.
It required the collaboration
of Luca della Robbia
for the ceiling in glazed
terracotta with the Cardinal
Virtues (1461), and Antonio
Rossellino for the magnificent
Tomb with the effigy of
the Cardinal (1461-66).
The painted decoration
was entrusted in part
to Alesso Baldovinetti,
who painted the Eight
Prophets in the pendentives
and the Evangelists and
Doctors of the Church
in the lunettes as well
as the Annunciation.
He was succeeded by the
Pollaiolo brothers, who
painted the two curtain-drawing
Angels on either side
of the altarpiece depicting
St. Vincent, St. James
and St. Eustace, which
is also a work by the
same artists (now replaced
by a copy; the original
is in the Uffizi).

San
Miniato al Monte
The oldest church of Florence - 11th
century

Aedicula
window with mosaic on the facade
Enthroned Christ between Mary and St.
Miniatus

Adjoining
the church the Benedictine monastery

The nave

Pulpit
- 1207
The
central motif is a pillar in the
form of a monk,
standing on a lion and supporting
an eagle with
the lectern above.

Pulpit - Detail

Abse with
choir screen
Large mosaic - 1297

Choir
screen - Detail

The
panels on the altar begun by Agnolo
Gaddi in 1394 and unfinished at
the time of his death in 1396 represent
Saint John Gualberto in an austere
black monk's cloak and Saint Miniatus
in colorful oriental attire. At
the sides are scenes from the Passion
of Christ; above, in the crown
of the arch, is the Ascension flanked
by the Annunciation, and in the
predella, Mary and the twelve apostles.

Left
aisle

The
painted and restaured ceiling

The
construction
of the present church was begun in
1013 by Bishop Alibrando and it was
completed by the Emperor Henry II.
Behind the altar the eagles emblem
of Calimala, the Guild of Merchants,
that from the 13th century onwards
was responsible for the maintenance
of the church.

Window
in stained
glass

Altarpiece
of St. Miniatus by Agnolo Gaddi

Zodiac
of Life
Marble inlay in the floor of the nave -
c. 12th century
Reconstruction of the original
design

Sacristy
Frescoes by Spinello Aretino - 1387
Life of St. Benedict

The
pillars of the crypt are made of
several materials
and have different
shapes, trims and origin.
Some come
from ancient Roman baths.

CHAPEL OF THE CARDINAL OF PORTUGAL
Glazed terra-cotta dome by Luca della
Robbia

A cubic landscape set with tondi of the
four virtues
surrounding the Holy Spirit to symbolize
the young scholar's devotion to the church
and to humanist philosophy. It stands
as one of della Robbia's masterpieces
of color and classical ideals.

CHAPEL OF THE CARDINAL OF PORTUGAL
Floor mosaic

CHAPEL OF THE CARDINAL OF PORTUGAL
Antonio and Piero del Pollaiolo
Cardinal of Portugal Altarpiece
depicting St. James, Vincent and Eustace
(Original now in Uffizi Gallery)

CHAPEL OF THE CARDINAL OF PORTUGAL
Grave of the Cardinal of Portugal

CHAPEL OF THE CARDINAL OF PORTUGAL
Fresco by Alesso Baldovinetti
Annunciation